It won't be long before the first "I question the timing" slurs start. In the interim, the bombing of Australia's embassy in Jakarta serves to remind us that terrorism has not been defeated. At the same time Bali bombers are sipping Starbucks. Indonesia is a battleground in this war and its Government and police need to act like it.

1) Another intelligence failure? For all the co-operation over the Bali bombing, the intel on JI is either not being shared with Australia or it doesn't exist. Given ONA received a funding boost after the WMD fiasco, it must be ASIS's turn to be rewarded for failure.

It's far too early to tell. It took the US 3 years to finish a thorough inquiry into the intelligence failures of 9/11. In this case we are talking about the actions of an extremist group operating on foreign (non-Australian) soil but their backyard. There are protocols and procedures for working with the Indonesians. Or is Mr Burchill saying we should trash that and do our own investigating in Indonesia? That'd go down well.

2) All of the attacks on Western targets since 9/11 have taken place on Howard's watch. How does this make him the strongest candidate on national security? Mr Downer might also like to start thinking about "root causes" - if he wants to help bring this to an end. Mouthing off about the evil and barbaric people behind these attacks helps no-one.

Linking the attacks to being on Howard's watch borders on the absurd. Does it make him the strongest "national security" candidate? Ever since Latham's home by Christmas gaffe on Iraq troops the ball's been in Latham's court to prove he's up to the task. Say what you like about Howard, no one doubts he's solid on national security. Some argue he's too solid, but that's another matter. The issue is Latham's to prove, not Howard's. To further demonstrate the ridiculousness of the arguement, you could say everything nasty in WW2 happened on Churchill, Chifley and Roosevelt's watch.

3) The effectiveness of JI seems relatively undiminished despite the Bali prosecutions and Hambali's arrest. This is very bad news.

4) Megawati and SBY have continued to deny they have an Islamist problem - in SBY's case he denies the very existence of JI in Indonesia. Canberra may want to reconsider the view that he is their favoured candidate in the forthcoming second presidential ballot. A massive case of denial remains.

JI does seem to still be effective; this is a fair point. Likewise Indonesia's political leadership has collectively ducked confronting Islamist extremism in their country. This is in fact the crux of the issue. Until the Indonesians start confronting this menace Australia will be hamstrung in its fight.

5) Is this the attack on the Australian election or the Indonesian one?

Does it matter? The bombing will have little impact on Indonesia's election. In Australia it could cut both ways: it may bolster Howard's national security bravado but it could also boost Latham's arguement that Howard has made Australia a target. Like in the US, it is unlikely to actually influence the small number of undecided voters. The swing voters, while concerned about global events, are far more concerned over their mortgage bill, their kids' schools, the health system and tax cuts. That's just how it is.

UPDATE 2: This post has been moved to the top of the page...more in the extended entry.

I've never been a fan of the Aussie flag, with its Union Jack. But I firmly believe in everything that flag stands for and why we need to defend those values from those that seek to destroy it. We can be thankful that (at least so far) it appears no Aussies have been seriously hurt or killed, but we must extend our deepest sympathies to those Indonesians that have. There will be a time for anger, but not yet. Now is a time of sadness and mourning. The only good that may come out of this is the Indonesian Government may see fit to really crack down on JI and the Islamic extremists - they are callously murdering Indonesians without qualms. Regardless of your politics, it is clear this an enemy that cannot and should not be appeased.

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A huge bomb exploded outside the Australian embassy in Jakarta today - there are fears of many casualties.
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Comments:

Outstanding coverage - George might have a point - where do you find the time!

Just to clarify, a common mistake I have seen even BBC make, that the building in the background not the Australian embassy, but a highrise office tower next door to it.

The Aussie embassy, a white, angular building you have probably seen in TV coverage, was designed at an angle and elevation to avoid worse case damage in the event of such a blast. Which explains that of the seven+ buildings damaged by the blast, the embassy building sustained the least damage (apart from the gate).

Still, this photo is a haunting image reminiscent of iconic images of the stars and stripe on 11 September, 2001.

Moving right along ...

It's a real shame that the beautiful people of Bali are again forced to suffer damage to their tourism industry. Balinese, like the innocent passers-by, and decent security guards in Jakarta yesterday, do not deserve to suffer in a magnitude that no Australian could possibly fathom.

The target might be Australia, but the casualties are Indonesian. There are a lot of ordinary folk in Jakarta today, burying their loved ones and wondering how the f*** they got involved in this mess.

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